Paxlovid COVID anti-viral pills are now available at Ogden Pharmacy in Calgary, AB.

Paxlovid was approved in Canada as of January 17, 2022, as a COVID anti-viral in a pill form to reduce the symptoms experienced within five days of COVID testing and being positive.

That pill works by preventing the virus-causing COVID (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants from replication.

Family physicians and pharmacists can prescribe Paxlovid based on COVID test results and when the symptoms began. However, it is recommended that you get a prescription from your doctor since he or she would have your detailed medical history.

The detailed eligibility criteria for Paxlovid could be found on Outpatient Treatment for COVID-19.

There are also other methods to fight COVID that are available at Ogden Pharmacy, including:

Rapid antigen testing kits

These are free kits provided by the Government of Alberta to help residents of Alberta to perform rapid tests at home. The benefit of using those kits is to identify and isolate infected people infected with the virus causing COVID, hence reducing spread and transmission.

Additionally, Ogden Pharmacy can perform COVID rapid testing for you and your family and provide you with a certificate for travelling purposes.

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters

Vaccines are crucial and helped humanity to fend off many deadly viruses such as measles, polio and chickenpox.

Ogden Pharmacy in Calgary, Alberta, has Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in stock. Those vaccines were proven to be extremely and globally safe, robust and reliable.

On July 20, 2022, the Government of Alberta expanded the second booster dose eligibility to include all 18+ Albertans.

You can just do a walk-in at Ogden Pharmacy at its Lynnwood location, Calgary SE, or reserve a spot through the Alberta Health Services (AHS) online booking system. It is available here:

Vitamins and supplements

Those on their own do not protect against COVID. However, the diet of most Canadians is overloaded with fats and calories (70% of men and 50% of women have more calories than they need) but lacks essential nutrients that are necessary for a healthy and robust immune system. Specifically, Canadians lack proper amounts of fibre, potassium, and vitamins A, B12, C, and D.

Over-the-counter medications

If you got COVID-19 and didn’t suffer from severe symptoms, you will probably be told to quarantine and try to relieve your symptoms. Since the symptoms resemble flu and cold, you can use the over-the-counter medications available at Ogden Pharmacy.

For headaches and body pain:

• You can have Option+ Acetamenophene, Tylenol (a brand name for Acetamenphene), Advil, Option+ Ibuprophene

Some people respond well to Acetamenophene and others to Ibuprohphene. Option+ has the same medicinal ingredients as the brand name.

For the runny nose:

• You can have Aerius, Option+ Cold Medication

For cough:

• You can have Benadryl, Option+ Cough & Congestion Mixture

For interested readers, please check this blog post that discusses the differences between brand names and generic names medicines.

Other suggested methods

Ogden Pharmacy wrote a blog post about other methods that may help improve your immune system. It should be noted that vaccines and rapid test kits are the most effective methods to counter the effects of COVID on our society. Any other approach is considered complementary and supportive.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about COVID

1 – What is COVID (or specifically COVID-19)?

COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease of the year 2019. It is a disease caused by a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) mutated from the old SARS virus. SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

2 – What are the symptoms of COVID?

This is a difficult question since many variants of the new coronavirus exist. Moreover, even if we considered one variant, each person could have a different immune response ranging from no symptoms to acute respiratory failure and death.

A brief timeline that includes the first virus and the most critical variants:

The original virus:

The first appearance was in Wuhan, China, in 2019. Its first appearance in Canada was on Jan 25, 2020. It first appeared in Calgary, AB, on February 28, 2020.

Its symptoms:

Cough, fever, chills, loss of smell or/and taste, headache, difficulty breathing, and shortness of breath.

Alpha variant:

The first appearance was in the UK in September 2020, first appeared in Canada (Ontario) on December 26, 2020, and in Alberta in March 2021.

Its symptoms:

Similar to the original with less loss of smell and taste. It was deadlier, though.

Beta variant:

The first appearance was in South Africa in May 2020.

Its symptoms:

More transmissible than the original virus but with similar symptoms.

Gamma variant:

first appearance in Brazil in November 2020

Its symptoms:

Most of the symptoms were Rhinitis (nose mucus inflammation or coryza) and headache.

Delta variant:

First appearance in India in October 2020.

Its symptoms:

The Delta variant is 50% more transmissible than the alpha variant. Similar to the alpha variant with more flu-like symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, fever, and headache

Omicron variant:

The first appearance location is unknown (multiple locations simultaneously), but genera the virus was detected in November 2021.

Its symptoms:

This variant has two other sub-variants: BA.1 and BA.2. Omicron generally causes cough, fever, fatigue and other symptoms similar to the previous variants. However, less severe outcomes in terms of hospitalization were noticed, especially for the vaccinated individuals.

Three more variants were also detected: BA.2.75 (detected in India in June 2022 and nicknamed Centaurus by a Twitter account, not the World Health Organization (WHO)), BA.4 and BA.5 (right now, BA.5 is the most transmitted across the globe). Due to the presence of those variants, the risk of COVID-19 reinfection has now substantially increased, which provides more context and justification for booster doses.

Call Ogden Pharmacy at our Lynnwood location to ask about your eligibility for the first or second booster Pfizer shot.

3 – Where to get the COVID test in Calgary?

There are two types of COVID tests: PCR and rapid antigen test kits. Right now, the PCR test in Calgary is not available to the public except under specific conditions. You have to be at risk of severe illness as a healthcare worker or as a worker in a high-risk environment or setting.

The other available testing method is the rapid antigen test. For free, you can get it at your local pharmacy, such as Ogden Pharmacy.

You can get one box of test kits per individual every two weeks. Each box has five test kits.